Saturday, November 29, 2008

Weekend Getaway

The cute little town of Astoria, Oregon.


There was an amazing view of the Oregon valley from a hill in Astoria.

Vince on a Coast Guard ship...no, he was not supposed to be there - he thought it was part of the Maritime Museum display!

One of the many amazing houses in this little town on the Colombia river.

Vince and I at the beach, a real-live-ocean beach in Seaside, Oregon.

Vince and I had the chance to go to a marriage conference a couple of weekends ago. We have been told by wise people that you should invest in your marriage at least once a year, whether that is taking a class together, going to a conference, attending a retreat, or reading a book together on marriage. I think it is great advice, probably something you think about more in the beginning stages of the marriage, so we want to be sure make it a practice now that we keep for another 60 years or so.

The conference was being held in a tiny town called Seaside, OR, whose claim to fame is that they are the end of the Louis and Clark trail - there are even plenty of plaques and statues to prove it! It was a beautiful town on the intersection of the Pacific Ocean and the Colombia River. The town is adorable, with tons of little beach cottages for vacation rentals, little shops, an very old indoor carousel and a beautiful beach full of sand dunes and tall grass - I loved it.

Just up the river from Seaside was the town of Astoria, population 2,000....for the past century or so. We visited a Maritime Museum, where Vince was kicked off of a Coast Guard ship, a museum on the history of the town, were we had our own personal tour (because we were probably the only guests that came all day, maybe all weekend!) and a look-out hill were you could see the most incredible views of the town, river and pristine valley.

It was an amazing weekend, we definitely want to go back again sometime when we can rent out a little beach cottage for a weekend. We are so grateful for the opportunity we were given to be there.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey Guys,
The retreat sounded wonderful! Keep it up, year after year after year after.... I'm just glad Vince didn't get shot by the Coast Guard thinking he was a terrorist trying to take over their ship! Dad

EmilyJoyThompson said...

Beautiful pictures Riss. Looks like you guys are adjusting to the Northwest just fine...Vince is already comfortable enough to get into trouble. :) We sure miss you down here. Love you so much!

Emily